Tri-City students awarded $42K in scholarships

Five Tri-City area high school seniors received a combined $42,000 in scholarships Thursday night to continue their education at the next level.

The Atchafalaya Chapter of the American Petroleum Institute hosted its 61st Annual Scholarship Banquet at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City.

Thirty-eight students from the area applied for the scholarships. All applicants should be proud of the educational accomplishments they have made, Scholarship Chairman Herbie Kimble said.

The scholarship program began in 1956 when the chapter awarded a single scholarship. The scholarships awarded each year “are made possible by the ongoing support of our generous chapter members and numerous supporters,” Kimble said.

API currently funds scholarships for 19 students from the area.

All five of the 2017 scholarship recipients plan to attend LSU.

Morgan City High School’s Caylee Deshotel and Berwick High School’s Olivia Orlando each received a $12,000 scholarship. Deshotel will study pre-med while Orlando plans to major in biology.

Grant Oubre of Berwick High received the $6,000 Ronnie Roussel Scholarship and will study chemical engineering.

This scholarship has been awarded since 1986 in Roussel’s memory and is funded by B.A. “Red” Adams and Yvonne Adams.

Berwick High’s Elizabeth Ibert and Central Catholic’s Connor Hebert also each received $6,000 scholarships. Ibert plans to pursue a marketing degree, and Hebert will major in computer science.

Each scholarship is paid out over the course of eight semesters and requires recipients to maintain certain academic standards.

Applicants for the scholarships had to write an essay. Organizers choose a different essay topic each year that’s pertinent to current local, national or international events.

“This year, the essay topic addressed the establishment of sanctuary cities and the impact this designation would have on our cities, states and our country,” Kimble said.

Steve Nance, president and manager of Steele Creek Energy in Spring, Texas, was guest speaker during the banquet. Steele Creek is a private company that invests primarily in oil and gas. Nance has nearly 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.

Nance told the students to “dare to dream big,” he said.

“Don’t be bashful in your dreams, and then be willing to work hard for it,” Nance said.

He encouraged students to step outside of their comfort zones and to try new things. They should take risks, but also consider the consequences of their decisions if they fail, he said.

One of the qualities that Nance holds dearest is the importance of doing the right thing “no matter what the cost.”

Students will have challenges and decisions in the coming years that “in some cases are going to impact you for the rest of your life,” he said.
Nance emphasized the need to “communicate early, often and honestly.”

The majority of people’s problems, if not all of their problems, directly result from communication issues, Nance said.

Nance has run several different organizations over the years and always had a pact with his staff “that there will never be any repercussions from communicating a problem, unless that problem was done criminally or with malcontent.”

Asking questions is another key to being successful because “you never know what you might learn,” Nance said.

Sometimes, Nance asks questions he already knows the answers to, but he does so to make sure he knows what colleagues think about a situation.
Quoting legendary college basketball coach John Wooden, Nance said, “Balance is everything.”

Nance was able to hear Wooden speak one time and said he never mentioned basketball but instead talked about balancing one’s life. People should find balance in their lives in regard to their spirituality, family, school, work and fun, Nance said.